The Game Changer
by MarinaJackson
Summary: Artemis is stricken with grief after Wally's death. A year later, Barry finds something that might be a game changer. Spitfire with a bit of Chalant in it. First YJ Fanfic. Two-shot.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer for the entire story:**

I may have gotten the story plot from another fanfiction but I'm not sure if the two line up exactly. So just in case, I'm gonna say that the plot doesn't belong to me. Hope you enjoy.

Artemis absentmindedly pets Buster **[A/N: idk for sure what her dog's name is so for this fanfic, I'm calling him Buster]** behind the ears and he emits a low rumble. She smiles but she's not really there, still lost in thought. It's been a year since Wally's death and she still hasn't moved on.

She's sitting on her couch, in front of the TV but only static appears on the screen. The buzzing sound coming from the static helps drown out the outside world and she now knows why Connor likes it so much. It's not so much a distraction but a safe sanctuary from harsh reality. But unfortunately, Buster's whimpers at the sound of static anchors her into reality.

It's lonely in her Palo Alto apartment and despite the heater warming the room's temperature, she feels cold inside. She's never felt truly warm since… the incident. Despite herself, she shivers and Buster senses her dreary mood. He snuggles closer to her and Artemis hugs him, needing someone- anyone to help her get through this.

There's a knock at her door. Slowly rising from off her sofa, she pads over the soft rug to her apartment door. Not thinking straight, she twists open the door knob without checking who it is first and luckily, she's greeted by a familiar figure clad in a suit of black and blue.

The man embraces her and she clings on to him just as tight, knowing it's just as hard on him as it was on her. A tear escapes her eye and it trickles down her cheek. Nightwing pulls back from the hug and keeps her at arm's length. Staring intensely into her gray eyes, he whispers, "We're going to get through this."

Pursing her lips, she nods and closes her eyes, hoping no more tears will spill through. She had done enough crying for a lifetime. Nightwing pulls back his cowl and his blue eyes glisten with emotion as his face is revealed to her.

Suddenly, it's too hard to hold back the tears. She'll never run out of tears for her beloved. The ray of sunshine in her otherwise "drab" life. Now he's gone. Because of her decision to go back into the field. If only she had just stuck with Wally at college, they would've had a happy life, one without strife and hardships. But she threw it all away for what? A mission that would lead to his death.

As if he was reading her mind, Nightwing spoke, "It's not your fault. It's the Reach's." At the mention of the alien invaders, her jaw tightened and she clenched her hands into fists. Now instead of wanting to cry, she desired a punching bag.

"Hey, why don't we go to the Cave so we can see the rest of the Team? Some of the members of the original Team will be there too… like Zatanna and Rocket." Nightwing suggests softly. Artemis hesitates for a moment before nodding. What else could she do? Wallow in her grief until she wastes away? That doesn't sound too bad but then that'll mean Wally's sacrifice will all be for nothing. That's the last thing she would ever do.

Nightwing changes in the bathroom into his civilian clothing while Artemis waits outside, staring blankly at the wall… the place where Wally's picture once was. It was too painful to see his face everyday so she took the picture gone. The only indication in the room that Wally was ever living there was a sign hammered to the door that read: Wally + Artemis. A heart surrounded it which was a cliche move but a sweet one, nonetheless. She only kept it to remind herself that there once was a time when they were happy, just Wally and Artemis.

Nightwing emerges from the bathroom as Dick Grayson but he still has his shades on. Old habits die hard, she thought to herself. Dick opened the door and Artemis followed silently. They walked in a sullen atmosphere, knowing no one can be truly optimistic on this dark day. Upon reaching the nearest zeta tube, Nightwing gestures for Artemis to go first.

Not wanting to speak or to argue, Artemis complies and steps through the zeta tube. The computer announces her arrival and cries of happiness reaches her ears. Sounds of joy… She hadn't heard that sound in a while. Friends, both new and old, crowd around her and hug her tightly. Nightwing enters the cave and joins in the big group hug. God knows he needs it too.

Zatanna quickly finds her after the crowd disperses and asks her a question she's tired of hearing, "Are you okay?" Somehow, those words coming out of Zatanna's mouth sounds different. It sounds more sincere and as if she's not coping well with the grief either. She had known Wally almost just as long as her. Forcing a smile on her face, she begins to speak but the words don't come out and she chokes. She can't do this anymore. Tears trickle out of her eyes and she collapses on the floor. The group grows quiet.

Soon, only the sounds of Artemis sobbing is present in the cave. Emotions sweep over the room as a whole and soon it's hard to resist not crying. Megan crying on the shoulder of Conner, his face stony while Megan's usual demure face is scrunched up and red. Nightwing, Zatanna, and Artemis grip each other's hands and let loose their despair. Aqualad clenches his fist, different emotions flickering across his face: anger, depression, grief, and desperation.

Amidst all of these tears, the computer declares the arrival of a newcomer. The words, _Barry Allen and Iris West-Allen_ , ring through the cave. Soon, most of the sobs were stifled. Almost everyone looks up except for Artemis. She doesn't care who's entering the cave. She's in her own world now and it's too hard to escape its clutches.

A shadow looms over her broken figure. Wiping the tears from off her face, she looks up. The face of Barry and Iris shines over her. Iris… Wally's aunt… Now examining her face, she could see where Wally got his nose or where he got his smile. That smile is too hard to look at right now so she shifts her head. Barry says gently, "We've got some news for you. It's about Wally."

 **Please R & R!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hope you guys like it!**

Her heart rate sped up at the mere mention of Wally's name. "Wal-ll-lly?" she stuttered, shocked that there could still be any news of a dead person. Not sure if she wanted to know the answer, she asked, "Why?"

Barry looked grave as he answered, "Wally might still be alive." Her previously fast heartbeat now stopped. Alive? How can that be? She voiced her concerns. Barry said, "The Justice League and I aren't quite sure yet. We were scanning the… area for any residual alien tech from last year when the tracking system went wonky. When these things go haywire, magic or the Speed Force is usually in play."

Artemis started to hope but quickly smashed it. Hope is for suckers, she reminded herself. Barry resumed, "Now since Wally had… died in the area, the Speed Force vacuumed in his soul and keeps it there. That's the case for every speedster's death. But the Speed Force doesn't usually linger at that place of death. **[A/N: I'm totally making this up. Idk if this is true or not]** It goes away once the said person is dead. Now if the Speed Force is still there, Wally's soul/essence may still be there. Not dead but probably badly injured. We don't know if that's it but another speedster will have to enter the Speed Force near that area and retrieve Wally. Assuming that Wally will want to come back."

Fear crept into her tone as she questioned, "Why wouldn't Wally want to come back? To his old life. To his friends. To… me… ?" Her voice quavered but her eyes held steely resolve.

Barry shrugged helplessly. "The Speed Force is very persuasive and tempting. Once you go in, you might never come out. It's a high risk for me to even enter but it's a risk I'm willing to take. For Wally." Artemis asked again, "Will Wally come out unscathed? Will he remember his old life? How old will he be?"

The Flash thought, "Well, Wally will come out unscathed because the Speed Force is also a source of healing but… " he pondered to himself, "He'll probably remember his old life and he would've aged normally. Speeders only enter the Speed Force near death but this is a special case. There's no telling of the results until he actually comes out."

Instead of being scared for herself and Wally, she hardened her heart and asked, "Well, what are we waiting for?" Barry offers her a ghost of a smile and responds, "I thought you would say that." Iris patted Artemis's shoulder before she left the cave with Barry. The touch was brief but the meaning behind it was beyond words. Then, she followed Barry out of the cave and through the zeta tubes.

They zeta-ed to the nearest zeta tube then Barry ran them both to the North Pole.

 _At the North Pole…_

Artemis immediately started to shiver as the cold, brisk air smacked her in the face. Barry glanced over at her guiltily as he made a quiet remark, "Maybe I should've told you to bring a jacket." Too busy shivering to come up with a snarky comeback, she just glared at him. Not used to the strength of her glare, he flinched. Wally may have grown semi-immune to it but thank heavens that his uncle wasn't.

Artemis surveyed the freezing, barren land around them with a stare that rivaled the iciness of the North Pole. "So this was where it happened." she said, gritting her teeth. Barry didn't respond as he was staring intently at one spot. "This is it." he announced to no one in particular. As if he was passing through an invisible door, Barry suddenly disappeared from view.

Only her face showed surprise. Otherwise, Artemis displayed no signs of shock. After a couple of minutes, Barry's voice came drifting out of nowhere. Now startled, she yelped. Barry's disembodied voice said, "Wally's here. He just needs some more motivation to anchor him permanently in the real world."

Did he want motivation? Then he got it. Artemis firmly planted her feet and thrusted her hand into what seemed like nothing. Then something rippled and a vortex of swirling blue appeared. She inwardly gasped when she saw Barry's costume ripped to shreds, exhausted as he lugged along an unconscious Wally. At the sight of Wally, she almost lost the connection to the Speed Force but she also held tight, for Wally. Once the two speedsters were safe outside of the mysterious force, it closed and a surge of exhaustion swept over her. Fatigue overtook her and she collapsed but the last thing she saw was a glimpse of Wally's bright red hair.

Artemis blinked her eyes. Once. Twice. Thrice. The bright lights of the hospital lights blinded her. She blearily looked to the right. There was hospital bed there but the sheets were rumpled. An IV tube stood nearby. To the left her, there was another hospital bed with a roll of gauze resting on the pillow. A person had obviously occupied that bed once too. The hospital door opened with a bang but she was too tired to sit up and see who had entered the room.

"Babe…" and she didn't feel tired anymore. _Wally._ There he was. With a stubble and a twinkle in his mischievous emerald eyes, he rushed to Artemis's bedside. Suddenly they were all over each other. Let's not go into such details yet shall we? Artemis had missed this. How well they had fit together, like two puzzle pieces finally coming together. She had missed the feel of Wally and his smell of laundry detergent and mint. As for Wally, he had missed the softness of Artemis's hair and the glint of her grey eyes that would sometimes shift to blue when she was in a good mood. Her eyebrows, her nose, her ear. Yes, he had missed everything about her including her ear.

Someone else entered the room but the two didn't separate. A manly chuckle escaped from the person, "Guess it was a good thing that I got here now before things… ahem, escalated." Now disentangling herself from Wally, she had the gall to not blush. "Oh, like you're any better Dick." Wally suppressed a snicker as he placed a hand over the small of Artemis's back. Even that small action gave Artemis butterflies.

Dick snorted. His eyes glittered with more amusement and joy now that he had his best friend back. "At least I didn't kiss my girlfriends in such a public setting." he retorted. Zatanna chose that moment to enter the room. She raised a delicate eyebrow. "What is this about? Kisses, Dick? Bull. Don't you remember the time-." Dick swiftly shushed her while he stammered and blushed. Wally laughed, a sound that Artemis hadn't heard in awhile. Just hearing it lifted her spirits. Zatanna dragged Dick out of the room. "C'mon, let's leave the lovebirds to it." the female magician said with a smirk that resembled Dick's.

Artemis laughed and wrapped her hands around Wally's neck and brought him closer to her. The world was safe. And Wally was home.

 **That's it guys! Hope you enjoyed it!**

 **And sorry for not writing more. I'm not very good at writing the more intimate moments between people so I thought I would it end here before I would have to write said intimate moments. Sorry :(**


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